Glasgow Building Preservation Trust

Glasgow Building Preservation Trust Glasgow Building Preservation Trust is a charity that works to rescue, repair, restore and rehabilita

🗄 Opening the Archive: Heatherbank Museum of Social WorkWe are delighted to see this piece in The National, the result o...
04/06/2026

🗄 Opening the Archive: Heatherbank Museum of Social Work

We are delighted to see this piece in The National, the result of a year-long labour of love by Neil Ballantyne of the Open Polytechnic in New Zealand and Glasgow Caledonian University archivist Heather Panayiotaki.

GBPT, social care charity IRISS and the Scottish Council for Archives have supported the project, which emerged from a series of webinars for Glasgow Doors Open Day in 2024 exploring the Home Children movement in Glasgow.

That collaboration led to a second project, examining the impact of the pioneering, but now largely forgotten, Heatherbank Museum of Social Work in Milngavie. Led by Neil Ballantyne, the team secured funding from the Open Polytechnic to open up the Heatherbank archive, now held at Glasgow Caledonian University.

📩 We would be delighted to hear from anyone who has recollections of the museum, whether as visitors, former volunteers, neighbours or family and friends. Please contact [email protected] with the subject line 'Remembering Heatherbank'.

Read the article here: https://www.thenational.scot/culture/26157134.scottish-home-became-worlds-museum-social-work/

Iriss Scottish Council on Archives Open Polytechnic Glasgow Caledonian University

✨Save the dates – Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival (GDODF) will return from 17–20 September 2026!Organised by Glasgow Bu...
22/04/2026

✨Save the dates – Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival (GDODF) will return from 17–20 September 2026!

Organised by Glasgow Building Preservation Trust since its inception in 1990, the festival has grown to be Scotland’s largest free celebration of architecture, heritage and community, welcoming thousands of visitors each year to explore the stories, buildings and cultural spaces that shape our city.

This year, expect 120+ open buildings and a packed programme of walks, tours, workshops and family‑friendly activities — all completely free.

This year’s theme, ‘Glasgow Goes Out – The Places That Made Us’ warmly looks back on shared life in the city, celebrating how Glaswegians, city visitors – and all those who’ve called Glasgow home – have come together over the last hundred years to relax, express themselves and feel part of something bigger.

From grand cinemas, tearooms and bandstands to dancehalls, artist‑led spaces, grassroots music venues and legendary club nights, this nostalgia‑fuelled theme invites visitors to explore – or return to – the places that have made generations feel alive, day and night.

📩 Would you like to Participate in GDODF 2026?

We welcome expressions of interest from all kinds of organisations, including community and volunteer groups, heritage and walking‑tour guides, council‑owned buildings, private building owners and cultural organisations.

🚨 Participant Application Deadline - Monday 8 June

Visit the Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival website to find out more: https://glasgowdoorsopendays.org.uk/

Images:
1. Sophy Louise Illustration
2. Tiu Makkonen

Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival Doors Open Days

🐟 Event coming up: 'Mon The Fish! - Celebrating the Return of Salmon to the Clyde' The Govan Stones Project are hosting ...
20/04/2026

🐟 Event coming up: 'Mon The Fish! - Celebrating the Return of Salmon to the Clyde'

The Govan Stones Project are hosting our Heritage Engagement Manager Ingrid Shearer and Dr William Yeomans of the Clyde River Foundation for an inspiring event on the remarkable recovery of the Clyde from the impacts of industrialisation. Expect a mix of folklore, archaeology and history exploring the city's relationship with the river and its fishy inhabitants.

Find out about the environmental significance of the return of salmon to the river in 1983 ('one of the greatest good news stories in the history of freshwater biology'), and progress made over the past forty years.

📍 The Govan Stones, Govan Old Church
📆 Sat 25th April, 1pm
Free entry, coffee and biscuits available!

This event is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland and Glasgow City Heritage Trust

🏛 Coming this Saturday: ’Nothing New Under The Sun? Diversity and Diaspora in Different Times’.Join The Govan Stones Pro...
25/03/2026

🏛 Coming this Saturday: ’Nothing New Under The Sun? Diversity and Diaspora in Different Times’.

Join The Govan Stones Project and Dr Alan Leslie for a light hearted look at what the Gorbals and Ancient Rome have in common. This fascinating event will question whether the diasporas of nineteenth and early twentieth-century Glasgow and Ancient Rome have anything in common.

A wildly popular keynote event at Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival 2024, ‘Nothing New Under The Sun?’ will delve into aspects of the two city’s migrant histories and encourage you to decide for yourself how they compare!

Event details:
📍Fairfield Heritage, 1048 Govan Road Glasgow G51 4XS
📆 Sat 28 March
🕛 2.30pm

🎟 Reserve a free spot here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nothing-new-under-the-sun-diversity-and-diaspora-in-different-times-tickets-1985591048276?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

The Govan Stones Project Fairfield Heritage - the story of Glasgow's greatest shipyard

🎉 TODAY'S THE DAY! 🎉📣 The 36th Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival officially kicks off today with a spectacular array of o...
18/09/2025

🎉 TODAY'S THE DAY! 🎉

📣 The 36th Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival officially kicks off today with a spectacular array of open buildings, guided walks, talks, performances, exhibitions, ceilidhs, hands-on workshops for all ages and family friendly activities at over 150 sites across the city!

We are delighted to welcome you along to Scotland’s largest free heritage and community festival. Join us 18 – 21 September and step – or wheel – behind the scenes of our visionary city!

Want to know what’s on but unsure where to start? Visit our website glasgowdoorsopendays.org.uk or join us at our Festival Hub at the ARC (UofG) and speak to one of our lovely volunteers.

👋 We can’t wait to see you!

🌟 Thank you to our Funders: Glasgow City Council, Glasgow City Heritage Trust, Visit Glasgow / People Make Glasgow

🌟 Sponsors: National Trust for Scotland, Dentons, Thomas Johnstone Ltd, Narro Associates, Collective Architecture, John Gilbert Architects, Narro Associates, Page\Park, Tigerbond

🌟 Partners: European Heritage Days (EHD) / Journées européennes du patrimoine (JEP), Scottish Civic Trust, Doors Open Days, University of Glasgow, Explorathon Bike for Good Glasgow, Glasgow Disability Alliance

Image: Scott Cadenhead Photography

🎤 Festival Talks Programme | Glasgow: The Feminist City Panel DiscussionHow do we build cities that work for everyone?Jo...
15/09/2025

🎤 Festival Talks Programme | Glasgow: The Feminist City Panel Discussion
How do we build cities that work for everyone?

Join Councillor Holly Bruce, Gina Colley, Associate Director 360 Architecture, Maggie Macbean PEEK, Karen Wylie Glasgow Disability Alliance and other special guests for a thought-provoking talk exploring why a feminist approach to urban planning matters - and how Glasgow is leading the way.

🗣 Glasgow: The Feminist City Panel Discussion
📍 Festival Hub at the ARC, University of Glasgow, 11 Chapel Lane, G11 6EW
🕛 Saturday 20 September, 4–5pm

Free and open to all – we recommend booking your free ticket now to avoid disappointment!

Book a free space: https://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/.../glasgow-the-feminist...

🎤 Festival Talks Programme | Harvie’s D**e - Glasgow’s Forgotten TriumphJoin Prof. Chris Whatley for a fascinating tale ...
15/09/2025

🎤 Festival Talks Programme | Harvie’s D**e - Glasgow’s Forgotten Triumph

Join Prof. Chris Whatley for a fascinating tale of how ordinary Glaswegians took on an arrogant landowner and successfully defended ‘the ’liberties of the banks of the Clyde’.

🗣 Harvie’s D**e - Glasgow’s Forgotten Triumph
📍 French Street Studios, 105 French Street
🕛 Wednesday 17 September, 6.30–8pm

Free and open to all – we recommend booking your free ticket now to avoid disappointment!

Book a free space: https://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/.../harvies-dyke...

🎤 Talks Programme | Mackintosh Illuminated Talk with Liz Davidson, NTSThis year, the National Trust for Scotland is par...
10/09/2025

🎤 Talks Programme | Mackintosh Illuminated Talk with Liz Davidson, NTS

This year, the National Trust for Scotland is partnering with Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival to raise awareness of Mackintosh Illuminated. The project aims to spotlight Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald, sharing, celebrating, and inspiring as many as possible with their creative genius and the beauty of their creations.

Join former GBPT Director, Glasgow Doors Open Days pioneer and current NTS Project Director Liz Davidson OBE for a fascinating lecture where she will set out the aims of the project, its challenges and the opportunities it provides to put Mackintosh firmly at the top of the list of the UK's most important architects and designers.

🗣 Mackintosh Illuminated Talk with Liz Davidson, NTS
📍 Festival Hub at the ARC, University of Glasgow, 11 Chapel Lane, G11 6EW
🕛 Friday 19 September, 6–7pm

Free and open to all – we recommend booking your free ticket now to avoid disappointment!

Book a free space: https://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/.../mackintosh...
Mackintosh at the Willow

🎤 Talks Programme | Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson: Glasgow’s Visionary Architect Join Dominic d’Angelo, Chair of The Alexand...
10/09/2025

🎤 Talks Programme | Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson: Glasgow’s Visionary Architect

Join Dominic d’Angelo, Chair of The Alexander Thomson Society
(), for a thrilling illustrated talk exploring the life and work of visionary architec Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson.

🗣 Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson: Glasgow’s Visionary Architect
📍 Festival Hub at the ARC, University of Glasgow, 11 Chapel Lane, G11 6EW
🕛 Sunday 21 September, 5.30–6.30pm

Free and open to all – we recommend booking your free ticket now to avoid disappointment!

Book a free space: https://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/.../alexander-greek...

🎤 Talks Programme | The Radical 1780s–1820sLearn about a little-known memorial which was erected under conditions of sec...
08/09/2025

🎤 Talks Programme | The Radical 1780s–1820s

Learn about a little-known memorial which was erected under conditions of secrecy in 1847 and which still stands in Glasgow’s Sighthill Cemetery.

Award winning author and political activist Mary McCabe charts a series of strikes, uprising and protest that swept across Scotland in the early 19th century and how they were harshly suppressed by the government.

🗣️The Radical Wars 1780s–1820s
📍 Festival Hub at the ARC, University of Glasgow, 11 Chapel Lane, G11 6EW
🕢 Sunday 21 September, 4–5pm

✨ Free and open to all – we recommend booking your free ticket now to avoid disappointment!

Book a free space: https://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/.../the-radical-wars...

Address

120 Sydney Street
Glasgow
G311JF

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+441415544411

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